Breaking Clear (Full Hearts Series Book 3) (13 page)

*     *     *

Returning home that night, Harper went over her to-do list for the house. She vowed to get the house ready as soon as possible so her dad wouldn’t have to spend a minute longer than was necessary at the hospital. She had hired a handyman to widen the bathroom door and put up bars above the bathtub. He helped her move Roy’s bed into storage in the basement so a hospital bed could take its place.

Going to visit him early Friday morning, she spotted Dr. Smyth standing at the nursing station, filling in some charts. She stood beside him, setting down a box of donuts for the staff. Ignoring the donuts, the nurses and Dr. Smyth all stared at her, grinning from ear to ear.

“What? They’re just donuts. Honestly, I’m not even sure how fresh they are. I had one on the way over. It was mediocre at best.”

Dr. Smyth spoke up. “I think you should go see your dad. He’s waiting to show you something.” He nodded toward Roy’s hospital room.

“Is it . . . ?” she whispered, too overcome by hope and emotion to go on.

“It’s not my news to give,” Dr. Smyth said, pointing to Roy’s door.

Harper hurried into his room and found her dad staring down at his feet. The blanket had been pulled up, revealing his bare toes. He beamed as he pointed down. “Check out my new trick.”

He wiggled the toes of both feet.

“Oh, Dad! That’s maybe the best thing I’ve ever seen anyone do!” Harper gave him a huge hug, tears flowing down her face.

“I agree. Those wiggling toes are pure hope!” Roy’s eyes were shining as he clapped his hands together.

An hour later, Harper walked down the hall to the elevator with an extra skip in her step. She was stopped by Dr. Smyth’s voice.

“Harper! Hang on a second,” he said, jogging toward her. “I’m glad I caught you.”

She watched him as he neared. He was very handsome. Blond, with intensely green eyes and a warmth about him. His lab coat did little to hide the fact that he was some type of fitness buff. “So, that’s some terrific news about my dad, Dr. Smyth! Thank you so much for everything!”

“So far I haven’t been able to do much, but now I think I might be able to. I just got off the phone with the patient coordinator at the Rosewood Rehab Clinic. We might have an opening for Roy there. It would be a huge benefit to him. Twenty-four hour care, on-site occupational and physical therapy. Six weeks there would save him about four months of recovery at home. I’m there twice a week, so I can keep an eye on his progress. Now that we’re seeing some of the feeling return to his legs, it would be the best place for him.”

“Really? That sounds wonderful.” She hesitated for a moment before asking the question that had immediately popped into her mind. “Would this be covered under workers’ compensation?”

A flash of understanding crossed Dr. Smyth’s face. “Right. Workers’ compensation covers everything right up to the point of maximum recovery.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning I have to fill out a stack of forms as long as my arm, but with the nature of his injuries and the way the accident happened, I can’t see why it wouldn’t be covered.”

“Thank you so much!” Harper exclaimed.

“Don’t thank me yet. It’s not a guarantee. The other problem is that I won’t know for a few days if he can get in, so you’ll need to be ready for him to come home next week just in case. There’s no sense in keeping him here if we don’t have to.”

“The house should be ready in four days. I have a fellow coming by to help me build the ramp tomorrow. The only hold-up will be the adjustable bed, but they’ve promised to deliver it on Tuesday.”

“Excellent. With any luck, he’ll be transferred to Rosewood instead, but it’ll be good to have the option open. I’ll call to let you know as soon as I hear from the coordinator over there.”

The next morning Harper woke to her alarm, expecting Sven, the handyman, to be there by 8 a.m. He’d agreed to come on a Saturday since the work needed to be done in short order. She dressed quickly and made a pot of coffee. Checking the time, she realized it was after eight now and there was still no sign of him. She flipped through an issue of
Vogue
while she ate breakfast. As she was clearing her dishes, the phone finally rang. Sven was calling to say he couldn’t make it. He had been offered a much larger project and would be tied up for the next couple of weeks and no, he didn’t know anyone else she could ask, but he was sorry all the same.

She glanced in the direction of Evan’s house, momentarily feeling desperate enough to call him, but knowing that would only end badly. He’d be nice to her and she’d make sure they ended up in bed together. She spent the next couple of hours searching the Web for help, only to come up empty. Now what was she going to do?

As she sat stewing away, her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Harper. It’s Gordon Smyth calling.”

“Oh, hi, Dr. Smyth.”

“I was just filling out these workers’ compensation forms and I realized there are a few blanks I’ll need you to fill in for me. I wanted to let you know that I’ll leave them at the front desk, so be sure to get them when you’re in next.”

“Thanks. I was just about to come by. My ex-handyman called this morning to tell me he’s not showing up to build the ramp, so I thought I should pop in to see my dad.”

“Well, I’m pretty good with tools. Why don’t I come by to help?”

“Seriously?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I happen to know which end of the hammer to hold.” His tone was light.

“That would be wonderful, actually.” Harper answered. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. I have the afternoon off and I’d be happy to come on one condition.”

“Name it.”

“Call me Gordon.”

*     *     *

Three hours later, Gordon arrived as promised. He was dressed casually in khaki shorts and a black T-shirt. In his hand was a six-pack of beer. “Building and beer seem to go together,” he said as Harper let him in.

The two stepped out into the yard, finding the pile of brackets, boards and screws waiting for them. She handed him the instructions and went back inside to pour their beers into frosty mugs. When she came out, she glanced over the low fence at Evan’s yard, and her heart skipped a beat to see him standing on his deck. He gave her a long, serious look and a little nod before going back into the house.
Shit
. He’d seen Gordon and now he would have the wrong idea. Or maybe he’d gotten the right idea? Why would Gordon be here if he wasn’t at least a little bit interested in her?

As the afternoon wore on, Evan mowed his lawn and carefully pruned the shrubs in his yard. If she wasn’t mistaken, it seemed as though he were keeping an eye on her and Gordon. Every time Harper glanced over, she felt a tug of guilt and had to remind herself they had both agreed that staying away from each other was for the best. Even if he was incredibly sexy. Even if she did want to climb the fence and rip his clothes off. She needed to forget him.

“Nurse, can you hold that here for a second?” Gordon teased, positioning one of the boards over the brackets he had set up.

“Yes, doctor. Sponge?” she joked back as she held the board for him.

Just as he lifted the hammer to secure the board’s precut grooves into the bracket, a coughing sound came from Evan’s yard. Harper was distracted by the noise and looked up, moving the board as she did. This caused Gordon to hammer his thumb instead of the wood.

“Ah, fuck!” he cursed as blood immediately pooled under his nail.

“Oh my God! I am so sorry!” she exclaimed. “Can I get you some ice?”

“No, it’s fine, really.” He winced, holding his thumb with his other hand, annoyance flashing across his face.

“I’m so sorry. I just got distracted for a second. Can I do anything to help?” Harper asked quickly, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment.

He shook his head. “No, it’s nothing.” He picked up the hammer. “Just don’t move the board again,” he said, trying to sound as though he were joking.

One pound of the hammer was enough. “Nope. Sorry, Harper, I don’t think I can finish this today. I’m going to go into work and cauterize it to relieve the pressure. Maybe I can come by tomorrow night or sometime soon to help you get this done.” He stood and swiped his keys and cellphone off the deck.

“No, no. I couldn’t ask you to come back. I think I can finish it myself. I feel so terrible. Let me at least give you a ride to the hospital?”

*     *     *

A few minutes later, Harper stood on the front sidewalk as Gordon got into his car, insisting he didn’t need a ride. “I’m just going to sneak in and try to fix it without anyone noticing. Then I have a dinner at my brother’s house. It’s my sister-in-law’s birthday.”

“Okay, well, call me later to let me know how you’re doing, or if you need anything.”

“Sounds good.” He smiled at her. “Maybe we could go out sometime, somewhere without hammers.”

Harper managed a laugh. “I’d like that.”

She watched him drive off before wandering back into the yard. Plunking herself down into a wicker chair, she sipped the beer he had brought as she stared at the unfinished ramp. She finally decided to call Megan and filled her in on the day’s events.

“That sucks. Is he going to come back to help you?” Megan asked.

“No, I think I might be able to finish it myself. We’re on step twelve of sixteen. The rest can’t be that hard.”

“Hmm. Well, when you’re done, come here for supper. I haven’t seen you in a week now and that is just unacceptable.”

“Has it been that long? That is unacceptable. I’ll get some wine on my way over. Should be there in about three hours.”

“Supper’s in two hours,” Megan informed her.

“I’ll be there in two hours.”

Harper got back to work, her enthusiasm renewed. She now had a nice evening to look forward to after she finished. She could do this.

An hour later, she dropped the instructions onto the kitchen table, having just had a quiet tantrum in her yard. When she had finally managed to get the ramp completed, she realized that it was the wrong ramp for the doorway. The screen door swung out, meaning that she should have bought the other kit. Now she couldn’t get in or out of the house through the back door.

*     *     *

Evan had watched from his kitchen window as Harper had her tantrum in the backyard. A smile crossed his lips as she scrunched up the instructions and tossed them to the ground. Why did he find her so damn adorable as she was kicking the deck with a vengeance?

He had noticed that the ramp was going to end up a few inches too high for the door before he went inside to shower but he hadn’t said anything. He understood Harper well enough to know she would have refused his help after the way they had left things. He sighed to himself, wishing things were different between them. The past two weeks had been agony for him. He couldn’t get her off his mind no matter what he did. He’d stayed at work late every evening, hoping to avoid her. They couldn’t be an item, no matter how badly he wanted her. It would never work. If he could take back what had happened between them, he would. It had been a mistake. Every raw, delicious second of it. He was only going to end up hurting her if she didn’t hurt him first. And he cared far too much for her to let that happen. Not to mention how strong his feelings for her were after only one night together. Too strong. He had never wanted a woman the way he wanted her, and sleeping with her hadn’t helped put an end to his longing. It had only made it much, much worse.

Seeing her today with that other guy had gutted him in a way he hadn’t expected. From bits of the conversation he’d overheard, it sounded like the guy was a doctor, or maybe that was some role play thing they had. He shook his head as though to expel the thought from his mind. When that idiot had hammered his own thumb, Evan went into the house, unable to wipe the smirk off his face. After a few minutes of laughing to himself, he realized it was lucky that Harper hadn’t gotten hurt by accident.

He knew he shouldn’t have been keeping an eye on them in the first place. It was none of his business, and he knew he was partially responsible for her having moved the board. But he just couldn’t tear himself away; his desire to be there in case she needed him stopped him from walking away. The longer he watched them together, the more his insides churned with regret and jealousy. He was aware of how ridiculous it was to feel upset at the thought of Harper with another man, but when it came to Harper, Evan was realizing he was far from logical.

The next morning, Harper made her way around the house to the back, glad that she had remembered to prop the back gate open the day before so she could get in. She cursed to herself as she prepared to take apart the ramp. Stopping in her tracks, she saw that the ramp had been modified. It now sat flush under the door. She walked on it, finding it much sturdier than she had left it. Opening the screen door, she discovered that she was now able to use the entrance again. Smiling to herself, she looked at Evan’s house. He must have come over while she was at Megan’s. She would have to find a way to thank him. Hurrying to the front yard, she saw that his truck was gone. Grabbing her purse, she set off for the store.

Several hours later, through the open window, she heard his truck pull up. She had spent the afternoon cooking up a storm. She had made crab-stuffed mushroom caps, salad and roasted root vegetables, and had barbecued a chicken. Dessert would be pastries from Ernest’s. She quickly threw on some lip gloss and checked her hair before rushing out the front door and making her way over to his truck. As she walked, she hoped that her wraparound dress didn’t seem like overkill. Evan glanced at her as he opened the door, holding his large lunch kit as he stepped down from his truck. Boots climbed out and bounded over to her, rubbing up against her leg.

“Thank you,” Harper said, smiling up at Evan as she rubbed her hands over the dog’s ears.

“For what?” He locked up his truck and tapped his leg with his hand to call Boots back to him.

“For fixing the ramp. I’m assuming it was you.”

“I didn’t do it for you. I did it for your dad.” His voice was cool and he seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her as he walked to his front door.